Arrival & Security Information 2021

Dear Folk by the Oakers

We are keen to ensure that your visit to Folk by the Oak at Hatfield House this Sunday goes as smoothly as possible, so we are getting in touch with some useful advice and information.

Whilst the lifting of restrictions takes place on Monday 19 July, please remember that Folk by the Oak still takes place under Step 3 guidelines and therefore things will look a little different this year.

Even if you are a regular Folk by the Oaker, please read all of this information carefully and share it with the rest of your party.

In this exceptional year we would like to
draw your attention to these important points:

To reduce handling of used food packaging and help keep our Waste Recycling Team safe this year, please take ALL your rubbish home with you.

As you will be sitting in a socially distanced arena please help us to help you and assist our stewards as follows:

Please wear a mask and maintain a social distance of at least 1 metre when entering and having your ticket checked, when walking through the seating area, vintage or craft tent, or whenever you are waiting in a queue. You do not have to wear your face covering when you are seated enjoying the performances.
Follow steward directions to your seating area and be aware that the space in front of you will be an access aisle to ensure safe movement around site for you and other festival goers.
Bear in mind that you will be sitting in rows and will not have space to put large tables / picnics out in front of you so...
Please bring small picnic tables and fold out camping chairs rather than larger garden furniture this year
For larger groups of 10+ you may sit in more of a 'pod' arrangement at the rear of the arena if you prefer. Please make your way to the steward at the back when you arrive. Please be aware this may be outside of the best sound quality area.
Please follow the one-way indicators when moving around the festival seating area
As you know we are reducing mass movement on site by removing the Acorn Stage and beefing up the Main Stage this year. Please do not stand in front of the stage - stay in your seating area for the performances and enjoy the close-ups on the big screen
You are welcome to move around the festival to enjoy the various offerings in the vintage tent, craft tent, family area and concessions. Please observe capacity limits and one-way systems in the marquees and maintain a respectful distance from other festival-goers.

This system has been carefully researched to ensure everyone's safety and comfort at Folk by the Oak this year and your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Covid-19 Safety Measures & Visitor Guidelines

Please help us to make Folk by the Oak as safe as possible for all our audience, staff and volunteers.

Please wear a mask when you arrive, when moving around the seating areas, vintage or craft tent, and when part of a queue (unless you are under 11 years old or exempt.)

Please use hand sanitiser before and after using the facilities or visiting the stalls.

Please keep a safe distance from attendees outside of your group.

To ensure everyone's comfort and safety please read our Covid-19 Safety Measures & Visitor Guidelines page carefully before attending the festival. This includes guidelines on the circumstances under which you should not attend.

Test and Trace

In line with the government’s Test and Trace guidelines, all festival attendees over 16 are required to provide their name and contact details.

If you have not already done so, please submit the names and phone numbers of everyone in your party at our Test and Trace webpage.

Alternatively, Test and Trace QR codes will be available on site for you to scan on arrival.

Getting to the Festival

Where possible your party should arrive together or meet in the car park before entering. This will help us to seat you more quickly. If this is not possible please ensure that the first people to arrive inform the steward of the number in the party, and they will allocate enough space for the others to join you later.

The festival is clearly signposted from all major routes into Hatfield, Hertfordshire with temporary yellow event signage.

• Traffic from the A1(M) should come off at Junction 4 and follow yellow event signage through the Hill End Gate (AL9 5PG) via the A414 dual carriageway

• Traffic from A414 dual carriageway will be directed through the Hill End Gate (AL9 5PG)

• Local traffic coming from Welwyn Garden City on the A1000 towards Hatfield will also be directed to the A414 dual carriageway through the Hill End Gate (AL9 5PG)

• Traffic coming up from Potters Bar through Hatfield will be directed through Georges Gate (AL9 5HX)

• Upon parking, please make a note of your row number and the direction of the exit.

• Pedestrians may enter through the Station Lodge entrance (opposite Hatfield train station)

• Arriving by train: Please be sure to check your routes for up to date advice before travelling. Enter through Station Lodge opposite the train station.

• Please advise Taxis and Private Cars making a drop-off or pick up to follow the Taxi signage. All vehicles dropping off or picking up should follow taxi signage to the designated taxi drop-off / pick-up route. All taxi journeys must be booked in advance, allowing around 15 minutes for you to return to the taxi pick-up point at the end. We advise you to keep a record of the driver's phone number with you. Detailed taxi information can be found here

Leaving the Festival

• At the very end of the festival we will be co-ordinating the exit in order to minimise crowding. Please make a note of the row number where you are seated, and keep an eye on the screen to be alerted when your row may leave. If you are leaving before the end this does not apply and you may leave whenever you wish.

• With several thousand festival-goers in attendance, vehicular traffic will inevitably be heavy on entry and exit.

• Please be assured that stewards and organisers will be working to keep traffic flowing as efficiently and safely as possible at all times, with a target rate of 800 cars per hour per exit. It can take up to 60 minutes to exit the car park and your patience and co-operation are greatly appreciated.

Ticket Verification

• Please note - the festival is sold out and we will not be selling tickets on the day

• Please ensure that you have printed all your 2021 tickets and keep them dry.

• If you have not received your 2021 e-tickets please use our ticket re-send link to have them sent straight to your inbox for you to print.

• In order to be verified by the scanners, the square barcode in the top left corner of your ticket must be a clear printout. A faded or imperfect printout will result in delay at the gates.

• For the safety of our staff and efficient entry on the day please present tickets individually. Before you get to the gates, ensure that each member of your party is holding a ticket ready to present the barcode to the stewards.

• The quickest way to enter is using a printed ticket. If you are unable to print your tickets it is possible to scan them from the screen of your smart phone or tablet. However, it is vital that you have fully downloaded and saved the PDF to your device prior to arriving at the festival. It will not be possible to guarantee sufficient roaming internet coverage to do this on arrival.

Security Information

Whilst Folk by the Oak is considered a low risk event, your wellbeing and safety is paramount to us. With this in mind we would like to make visitors aware of the following security measures which will be in place on the day:

• A canine search team will be working along the queues and within the auditorium. When you see the dogs at work please do not distract them, but if you wish to say hello please ask the handler!

• Door supervisors will carry out targeted bag searches and customer checks, including searches using pat-downs and metal detection wands.These will be carried out in line with covid safety guidelines.

Get Packing...

• Please do bring your own seating / rugs and you are welcome to bring a picnic and drinks which may be consumed anywhere in the festival arena.

• Please bring your refillable water bottles and top up at our water points.

• Come prepared for the unpredictable British weather! We recommend bringing warm clothes even in good weather as it is noticeably cooler after dark. There's no shade on site so please bring everything you need in terms of sunhats, sunscreen etc

• Please bring your own hand sanitiser and face covering.

• The festival arena and car parks are well lit, but it can be useful to bring a torch to help pack up your things and find your car.

• The following are not permitted on site: drones, balloons / helium balloons, flame torches, sky lanterns, BBQs, stoves, any naked flames, sound recording equipment. Dogs are NOT permitted (with the exception of assistance dogs). Please do not leave your dog/s in your car.
Please see our FAQs page for further detail on prohibited items.

• Large structures such as tents, fishing umbrellas, tall flags etc will need to be positioned at the very rear of the crowd. Please advise stewards on arrival if you have such items with you. For gazebo guidelines please see our FAQs page

• Please note there are no cash points on site and, while we have encouraged all traders to have contactless payment options, you may wish to bring some cash for purchases from smaller stall holders.

Finding information

We are currently receiving a high volume of telephone and email enquiries.

We would encourage you to explore the website for festival information.

For key festival information such as set times and location please explore the Festival Info page on our website.

Answers to most questions can be found on our FAQs page,

For detailed information on the Covid-19 safety measures in place at the event you need our Covid-19 page

We look forward to welcoming you back to Folk by the Oak!